CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

Hey! This is Day 5 of my tour of Tasmania with Under Down Under Tours — check them out here! (Not sponsored.) If you haven’t read about the first four days yet, check them out here first!

February 23, 2023 — This day was easily one of my favourite but also one of the saddest days on the tour. It was my favourite because we headed to Freycinet National Park and Wineglass Bay, which was the main reason I wanted to come to Tasmania. Plus, we had a really awesome hike and lookout over the bay. It was also one of the saddest days on the tour because a lot of our group was finishing their tour.

We started off at 6:45am, when those of us staying in the hostel dropped our bags into the trailer at the back of the bus and then walked down to the bakery while Keygan, our tour guide, went and rounded up the rest of our group from their hotel/motel accommodations. It was a much warmer morning in Bicheno than it had been the previous couple of days, thankfully, and although everyone else was still chilly, I luxuriated in the warmth with a chai tea latte cupped between my hands. (Seriously, I can’t believe I forgot about those for so long. An excellent hot drink choice, even if it does lack the extra punch that coffee has.)

When everyone had gathered and finished their bakery stop, we got on our way to Mt Amos at Freycinet National Park. We were at the trailhead by 8:30am. Now, Mt Amos was only one of the choices afforded to us for viewing of Wineglass Bay today. There was also the option to hike the Wineglass Bay Track to the lookout, or to hike the Wineglass Bay Track to the beach, which have less elevation but which are much longer tracks including return. The previous evening, Keygan had discussed the options with some of us staying in the hostel and showed us pictures of the lookout from Mt Amos. That alone was enough to get me up the mountain, although with it being such a difficult and technical track, there were contingencies on completing it. Before we started, Keygan made sure that the rock looked dry enough to attempt and that everyone who wanted to complete the climb had grippy enough shoes to be able to walk on the rock. Because, literally, you’re climbing up a sheer rock face for a lot of the hike. Keygan had preached the climb as more difficult than our one at Cradle Mountain, with Marion’s Lookout being a warm up to this one. About six of us decided to take on Mt Amos.

I’m not gonna lie, it was tough. But I personally found it a bit less tough than the climb on Cradle Mountain.

The climb to the summit of Mt Amos is approximately 4km return and takes around 3-5 hours to complete, according to the signage in the park. My record of the hike gives the total distance as 5.01km return and 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. You have an elevation gain of approximately 411m as the summit is 454m above sea level. The first part of the track is similar to what you’d expect to find on a moderate uphill climb. There are rocks and tree roots blocking the dirt path. The steps to climb up are made from the Earth’s natural elements. Then the trails starts getting gnarly. The rock that comprises the mountain starts presenting in sheets that you climb up, one foot after another, until you get back onto a dirt path and relatively level ground. This repeats several times until finally, it’s basically all rock and you’re searching for the trail markers as you go, on all fours, navigating the face and the crevasses, working hands and feet until you can stand again and almost see the summit.

The stairs-like parts were actually the hardest for me. Trying to step up a mountain isn’t quite my forte, apparently. When we got to hands-and-feet and it was more about finding a route to climb up than following stairs cut into a trail, it got a whole lot less difficult for me and I clambered on up.

The views of Wineglass Bay from the summit are nothing short of spectacular.

We spent about a half hour on the summit after taking only an hour to climb up. We’d allocated about three hours for the climb. We ate, chatted, relaxed, took photos, and enjoyed the view.

Eventually, we made our way back down the mountain (which is so much easier to go down, regardless of how decent I thought it was going up) and back to the rest of the group. We filed on to the bus and made our way to the Cape Tourville Lighthouse Walk — which was probably very good for stretching our legs after Mt Amos. It was a beautiful little loop, but our early morning sojourn had definitely tired us out and it was crazy to think that it wasn’t even noon yet. We also had a little stop to admire a view of The Hazards, which is the name of the mountain range that Mt Amos belongs to.

Finally, we made our stop for lunch (where I had some leftovers from the previous night, eaten with a knife because I couldn’t find my fork) before continuing on for ice cream at The Pondering Frog. They didn’t have a whole lot of options, so I decided against ice cream, but it was still a nice spot to rest. There was a pond with a whole bunch of lily pads on it, perhaps explaining the name, and there were also a ton of goats wandering around just beyond the property. For some reason, Tasmania does seem to love its frogs, as one of the hostels in Hobart where some of the group was staying tonight and where I would eventually stay for my last nights in Hobart can also attest: it’s called The Pickled Frog.

Our last stop before making our way fully back to Hobart was at Mayfield Beach. It has beautiful turquoise waters and squeaky sand and, although we didn’t linger, it was a nice spot to stretch our legs.

We got back on the bus and made the rest of our way to Hobart, stopping at the airport to drop some of our group off and then at the Hobart YHA to drop off those of us who were staying at the hostel and were continuing on with the tour the following day. I was honestly so sad getting off that bus and having to stay goodbye to everyone. I’d had some really excellent times with everyone who was leaving that day.

When I finally managed to get checked in at the YHA, I took my stuff up to my room, showered, changed into clean clothes for the first time in a couple days, and then took myself out into the city to get Dominos pizza. We’d spent the last several days on the tour talking about all the food we wished we could have and I can honestly say that takeout pizza has never tasted better after days of sandwiches and fairly uninventive dinners.

A short time after I’d finished, I got a text from one of the girls on my tour asking about going out for drinks. I met up with her and one of the guys on my tour and we went to The Shamrock Hotel and sat and had a drink and talked for a while. One of the other girls from the tour joined us a little later as she was staying in the same hostel as them. Eventually, we had to say goodbye for real. They headed back to their hostel and I headed back to mine, and I was almost crying. I called Mom and chatted with her for a while because, even though Tasmania has a very low crime rate, you can’t be too careful. Plus, I needed the company. I got back to the hostel and got ready for bed, then curled up and in and slept, wondering what the next day would hold.

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